Tag: Italy

The Italian government has defied the European Commission by sticking to its big-spending budget plan. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said a deficit target of 2.4% and a growth forecast of 1.5% were unchanged.

Standard & Poor’s on Friday left Italy’s sovereign debt rating unchanged but lowered its outlook to negative from stable, saying that the new government’s policy plans were weighing on the country’s growth and debt prospects.

The European Commission has told Italy to revise its budget, an unprecedented move with regard to an EU member state. EC is worried about the impact of higher spending on already high levels of debt in Italy, the Euro zone's third-biggest economy.

The right-wing League has won control of the northern Italian province of Trento, ousting the center-left coalitions that have ruled for decades, in the latest breakthrough by the anti-immigrant party.

Moody's has cut Italy's credit rating by a notch over concerns about plans for larger deficits and the high public debt load as the country's populist government clashes with Brussels over its budget. The European Commission formally warned Italy late Thursday that its budget plans for 2019 are a serious concern, launching a high-stakes process that could see Rome hit with unprecedented sanctions for breaking commitments to Brussels.

Italy's government on Tuesday pushed the country closer to a showdown with the European Union after submitting its latest budget for review. The budget proposes increases both Italy's overall government debt and its deficit in the short run pushing the deficit as high as 2.4% of GDP over the coming years. This means Italy will fall foul of a previously mandated maximum deficit level of 0.8% of GDP.

The Aquarius 2 migrant rescue ship, the last of its kind operating in the central Mediterranean trafficking route, was told by the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) on Sunday that it will have its registration withdrawn. The boat is currently at sea with 58 survivors on board.

It came seemingly without warning, and has left a shocked and devastated nation demanding answers. Now officials are scrambling to find out how Genoa’s Morandi Bridge collapsed overnight killing at least 30 people as it sent dozens of vehicles tumbling into a heap of concrete and twisted steel.

The former chief executive of carmaker Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, has died in hospital in Zurich aged 66. He was replaced four days ago when his health worsened following complications from surgery on his right shoulder.

We don't want money, we want dignity, was the reply of Italian Minister of Interior Matteo Salvini to the European Commission proposal for EU member states be paid 6,000 Euro to accept and deal with each migrant saved at sea in the Mediterranean as they attempt to reach the European Union.